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Skrips 2024 Fantasy Football “My Guys”

By Nick Skrip
Fantasy Football My Guys

Content creation for Fantasy Football is something I do daily and take a lot of pride in. I create content in the form of articles, threads, graphics, short videos, live streams, data drops, player spotlights, and more. There is a lot of research and deep diving into player analysis when it comes to content creation. So when I say I do this stuff daily, it means I am looking deep into everything football daily. This sort of routine builds strong player takes for content, but I am a Fantasy Football manager across several leagues as well. So not only do I speak about Fantasy Football, but I am very much in the trenches when it comes to this game. I love to compete and I love to win when it comes to Fantasy Football.

So as a Fantasy Football manager, I step into each season with targets for my leagues. These targets will be players that I try to draft in Redraft or players I make a push to get on my Dynasty Fantasy Football rosters. The reps pushing content develop lists of players I am higher on and lower on than what consensus says. Consensus may rank “Bruce Wayne” as the WR33 for the year, but my analysis truly thinks Bruce Wayne can be a top 24 wide receiver. With that gap, I actively am trying to draft Bruce Wayne and vocalize that to my audiences. The same sort of process goes for being lower on players with the action being the opposite.

“My Guys” refers to these players that I am higher on than consensus and want on all of my personal Fantasy Football teams. These players are ones I have pushed content out on and voiced that these guys should be in your lineups as well. As a Fantasy Football manager myself my goal is to win. As a Fantasy Football content creator, my goal is to help YOU win. Win in 2024 by targeting these Fantasy Football players. I will give you the boxes that these players check for 2024, along with supporting content to check out to further emphasize the “why”.

What!? Your fantasy football league wasn’t hosted on Fantrax last season!? Once you see how Fantrax stacks up to the competition, we think you’ll be singing a different tune in the 2024 season.

Skrips 2024 Fantasy Football “My Guys”

Quarterbacks

Kyler Murray (Cardinals)

  • QB4 (2021), QB3 (2020), and QB11 (2019) in Fantasy PPG
  • Finished as a top 12 Fantasy Football quarterback in four of his eight games in 2023 following an ACL tear in 2022
  • 2020: 3,971 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns, 819 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns
  • 2024 weapons: Marvin Harrison Jr, Trey McBride, Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, Zay Jones, James Conner and Trey Benson

Kyler Muray is one of the best values at the quarterback position in 2024, being drafted as the QB10 and 75th overall player for Fantasy Football. K1 is a quarterback who can rush for 500+ yards, and that Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride combination, among other supporting pieces, means getting those passing attempts back up to what they were his opening two seasons in the NFL (542 then 558) is likely. Kyler has the tools to be an elite Fantasy Football quarterback with top-five upside without paying the draft capital for that.

More on Kyler Murray can be found here

 

Caleb Williams (Bears)

  • Prospect numbers: 10,082 passing yards, 93 passing touchdowns, 986 rushing yards, and 27 rushing touchdowns
  • Production profile with a below-average offensive line and only one true note-worthy weapon
  • Elite arm talent by making plays at all three levels, abilities to make plays under pressure, mobile inside the pocket, breaking off runs when needed, solid throwing on the run, and making the off-balance plays happen. High football IQ, great vision, and is an overall playmaker
  • 2024 weapons: DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, and D’Andre Swift 

The first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is regarded by many as one of the best quarterback prospects we have seen in a long time. I cannot recall a rookie quarterback stepping into a better set of receiving weapons their first year than Caleb is for 2024. Great talent + great situation should equal Fantasy Football success. Think rookie CJ Stroud but with rushing upside, a better prospect profile, and better weapons. Williams is being drafted as the QB15 and the 102nd player overall for Fantasy Football and will smash his ADP in 2024.

More on Caleb Williams can be found here:

 

Deshaun Watson (Browns)

  • Top 10 Fantasy quarterback in three of his five full games in 2023
  • Fantasy scoring from 2020 back to 2018: 23.5 (#2), 22 (#5), and 21.3 (#5) Fantasy PPG
  • Career-highs: 4,823 passing yards (2020), 33 passing touchdowns (2020), 551 rushing yards (2018), and seven rushing touchdowns (2019)
  • 2024 weapons: Amari Cooper, David Njoku, Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, Nick Chubb, and Jerome Ford 

We once regarded Deshaun Watson as an elite quarterback for Fantasy Football back in his Houston days. The numbers for Fantasy Football, and the dual-threat statistics support this. Joe Flacco is a far different quarterback, but his success last season in Cleveland when filling in for Watson brings optimism that Watson can also be successful in a full season. Watson is being drafted as the QB23 and 156th overall player for Fantasy Football as a guy who has been a top-five quarterback in Fantasy PPG in all three of his full seasons.

More on Deshaun Watson can be found here:

Running Backs

Saquon Barkley (Eagles)

  • 1,312 (2022) and 1,307 (2018) rushing yard seasons
  • 57 (20220), 52 (2019), and 91 (2018) reception seasons
  • 10 (2023), 10 (2022), and 15 (2018) total touchdown seasons
  • Fantasy PPG: 15.9 in 2023 (#9), 17.8 in 2022 (#5), 18.8 in 2019 (#7), and 24 in 2018 (#3)
  • Philadelphia has had back-to-back running backs finish with career-highs in rushing yards: D’Andre Swift in 2023 and Miles Sanders in 2022

I think Philadelphia looked at the San Francisco success of adding a dynamic, playmaking running back in Christian McCaffrey and how that propelled them to a Super Bowl trip then tried to mirror it by signing Saquon Barkley. Barkley is in the best situation he has ever been in and will explode for Fantasy Football in 2024. Barkley checks all of the boxes of an elite Fantasy running back and is a candidate to finish as the RB1 this season.

D’Andre Swift (Bears)

  • Career-highs: 1,049 rushing yards (2023), 5.5 yards per carry (2022), 62 receptions (2021), 452 receiving yards (2021), and 10 total touchdowns (2020)
  • Ranked 5th in yards created back in 2021 via playerprofiler
  • Fantasy PPG: 12.5 in 2023 (#24), 13.7 in 2022 (#15), 16.1 in 2021 (#8), and 14.6 in 2020 (#15)

D’Andre Swift joins the fastest-growing offense in the NFL in the Chicago Bears this season. Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, and Gerald Everett make up a great offense to be the lead back in. We have seen so many great things out of Swift, but never in a full-season combination. If Swift can put it all together in 2024, he can have a massive Fantasy Football season as a true dual-threat talent. The RB23 price tag in drafts right now is such a value for what he has done in three of his four seasons so far for Fantasy Football as well as what he can do this season.

You can read more about D’Andre Swift here:

RB: Najee Harris (Steelers)

  • 2023: Weeks 11-18 following the firing of the Steelers’ offensive coordinator Harris ranked fourth in rushing yards (571) during this span, and during the Fantasy Football playoffs (Weeks 16-18) Harris scored the third most Fantasy Points
  • Three straight seasons over 1,000 yards rushing: 1,035, 1,038, and 1,200
  • 74 then 41 receptions in his first two seasons
  • 2024 upgrades: Russell Wilson and Justin Fields for the quarterback room. Added much-needed offensive linemen via the first (Troy Fautanu out of Washington), second (Zach Frazier out of West Virginia), and fourth rounds (Mason McCormick out of South Dakota) of the 2024 NFL Draft

The turn-off for most Fantasy managers that fade Najee Harris is the presence of Jaylen Warren who has taken away the pass-catching upside for Harris and created a committee in Pittsburgh. Harris was hot during the second half of the season, and on fire towards the end though. In a contract year, I expect Najee to continue his 1,000+ yard rushing streak and pick up where he left off in 2023. The improvements to that Steelers offense are not talked about enough. I will smash Najee at RB24 costs all day.

Javonte Williams (Broncos)

  • Six weeks as a top 24 Fantasy running back in 2023, and caught 47 balls after tearing his ACL in 2022
  • 2021 (rookie season): 903 rushing yards, seven touchdowns, four weeks as a top 10 Fantasy running back, three weeks scoring over 20 Fantasy Points, ranked sixth (playerprofiler) in both evaded tackles and yards created, and finished 22nd in Fantasy PPG

People have been fading Javonte Williams all off-season, but I have been doing the opposite. Williams is the only running back, in my opinion, on the roster who can profile as the Broncos’ RB1. Jaleel McLaughlin can serve as a pass-catching option and rookie Audric Estime is a solid handcuff who just might be the future of Denver but the now is Williams. We once regarded Williams as a future stud running back for Fantasy Football after his rookie season, then too many did not give him a pass last season in a year he was returning from an ACL tear. For a guy who can touch the ball 200-250+ times in 2024, Javonte is a great value at RB34 cost right now.

Wide Receivers

Ja’Marr Chase (Bengals)

  • 2021, aka the only season (rookie season) both Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow were at full health: 1,455 receiving yards, 13 receiving touchdowns, and 17.9 Fantasy PPG (#5)
  • I dove into the 38 games that Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow have played together across the last three seasons (38):
    • Averages:
      • 9.58 Targets, 6.24 receptions, 87.05 receiving yards, 13.82 yards per catch, 0.74 Receiving touchdowns, 19.27 Fantasy Points
    • Percentage of Games with:
      • 8/38 (47.37%) = 10+ Targets
      • 13/38 (34.21%) = 100+ Rec Yards
      • 20/38 (52.53%) = Games with a receiving touchdown
      • 15/38 (39.47%) = 20+ Fantasy Points
  • Upside notes:
    • Six games with multiple receiving touchdowns
    • Two games with three receiving touchdowns
    • 10 games with 120+ receiving yards
    • Four games with 150+ receiving yards
    • Two games with 200+ receiving yards
    • 11 games with 25+ Fantasy Points
    • Five games with 30+ Fantasy Points
    • Two games with 50+ Fantasy Points

The reason I am providing so much context and supporting notes for Ja’Marr Chase is because I believe he is not just the WR1 for Fantasy Fantasy Football in 2024, but the 1.01 of Fantasy Football in 2024. Joe Burrow missed time in 2023, Ja’Marr Chase missed time in 2022, and I am hoping we finally get another full season of these two together. This LSU-turned-Cincinnati connection has the highest ceiling in Fantasy Football. Chase is a candidate to lead the NFL in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2024. I truly believe Chase will break Fantasy Football this year and has the potential to break records while doing so. You were warned of what will happen.

Drake London (Falcons)

  • The 2022 NFL Draft’s WR1 at pick eight. 5th highest target share in the NFL (via playerprofiler) as a rookie (29.4%) with 117 targets
  • A mixture of Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, and Marcus Mariota, a lack of passing volume (Atlanta ranked eighth least in passing attempts in 2023 and the second least in 2022), and a coaching staff that did not emphasize playmakers set up London to fail
  • Four-year contract, $180 million dollar contract for Kirk Cousins, and drafting Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft as insulation was huge for London. Along with the firing of Arthur Smith as the head coach
  • 2023: finished with 18.7 (Week 2), 14.7 (Week 5), 21.5 (Week 6), 29.2 (Week 14), and 9.6 (Week 17) Fantasy Points in games he was targeted 8+ times

Drake London is one of the biggest winners of this NFL off-season. Bringing in Kirk Cousins should mean that passing volume going up in 2024, but not only does the volume change but the quality of the targets changes. London has the DNA of a Mike Evans type of wide receiver, and can finally be fed enough to show the league what his prospect profile screamed. London should finally hit 1,000+ receiving yards in 2024 and can have a ton of upside. Fantasy Football breakout is incoming.

Zay Flowers (Ravens)

  • Led the Ravens in targets (108), receptions (77), and receiving yards (858) by the end of the year. Mark Andrews did suffer an injury that cut his season short, but Zay did out-target Andrews on a per-game basis 6.8 to 6.1
  • Finished 15th in yards after the catch (391)
  • Fantasy scores:
    • 17.7 (Week 1)
    • 17.1 (Week 6)
    • 23.2 (Week 12)
    • 20 (Week 14)
    • 22.2 (Week 16)
    • 19.6 (Week 17)
  • NFL Playoffs (two games): Caught nine of his 13 targets for 156 receiving yards and a touchdown.  Accounted for 23.63% of the team’s targets, 25% of the team’s receptions, and 36.79% of the team’s receiving yards

Flowers had a solid rookie campaign in 2023, which was a season Lamar Jackson finished with career-highs in passing attempts (457) and passing yards (3,678). The end of the year Fantasy scoring stands out to me, along with Zay staying hot in the NFL playoffs. We see rookies have second-half-of-the-year breakouts often for Fantasy Football, and then continuing to climb through their careers. A good example would be Amon-Ra St. Brown his rookie season. To be very blunt here – Flowers can ball. Year two can be a leap in production and a huge impact for Fantasy Football. WR25 in drafts is a value.

Jayden Reed (Packers)

  • Second-round selection by Green Bay in the 2024 NFL Draft. Rookie campaign finished tied for first in targets per game (5.9 / 94 overall), led Green Bay in receiving yards (793), and led the receiving room in total touchdowns (10).
  • For the position, Reed finished 16th in slot snaps, #27 in yards after catch (335), #27 in yards per route run (2.06), #3 in rushing yards (119), and #26 in Fantasy PPG (13.6).

Jordan Love finally had his shot as a starter in 2023 and finished with 4,159 passing yards and 32 passing touchdowns, which is great production through the air and a solid sign for the pass-catchers in Green Bay. Reed is the most versatile wide receiver on the Packers roster. Reed can line up in the slot, he can run routes outside, he can be used in a “Deebo” role carrying the ball. Reed extends plays after the catch and instantly displayed touchdown upside. Finishing 26th as a rookie in Fantasy PPG was a great start to his Fantasy Football tenure, and I expect that connection with Love to extend into 2024 which could mean a leap in Fantasy production as a sophomore. WR35 price tag after smashing that ADP his rookie season makes Reed a value.

Diontae Johnson (Panthers)

  • 147 (2022), 169 (2021), and 144 (2020) targeted seasons back in Pittsburgh
  • 1,161 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns in 2021
  • 17.2 (#8) Fantasy PPG in 2021 and 14.8 (#22) in 2020
  • Two-year, $36.7 million contract in Carolina

Carolina made several moves this off-season to improve their offense such as:

  • The hiring of Head Coach Dave Canales. Canales has been tied to quarterback improvements in his previous offensive coordinator roles such as Russell Wilson’s 2018 leap in production in Seattle, Geno Smith’s major 2022 career turnaround season in Seattle, and the bounce-back of Baker Mayfield last year in Tampa Bay
  • The signing of guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to add to the Carolina offensive-line issues
  • 2024 NFL Draft weapons added: Xavier Legette (wide receiver, South Carolina) via the first round, Jonathon Brooks (running back, Texas) via the second round and Ja’Tavion Sanders (tight end, Texas) via the fourth round

For Bryce Young, the most significant move may have been the addition of Diontae Johnson, a true WR1. Johnson is simply good at getting open as an elite route-runner. DJ’s profile tells the tale of being a true target earner. While Bryce Young may have struggled in 2023, he did elevate Adam Thielen to a ton of Fantasy Football relevance as his #1 target. The new #1 target is Diontae Johnson. We have seen tons of Fantasy impactful weeks from Johnson in the past, and he will bounce back in 2024. A WR38 price tag for a guy who can earn 140+ targets is a crime.

Ladd McConkey (Chargers)

  • 1,687 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns produced out of Georgia. Second-round selection by the Chargers in 2024
  • Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler, and Gerald Everett are all OUT of Los Angeles
  • Justin Herbert averaged 35.1 passing attempts per game in 2023. Herbert threw for 5,014 yards and 38 touchdowns back in 2021 (ceiling example)

Ladd McConkey steps into an opportunity, as a rookie, to be Justin Herbert’s #1 target. That screams Fantasy Football implications. McConkey’s 4.39 – 40-yard dash shows that he is much more athletic than what people believe slot wide receivers actually are. McConkey is having a great camp right now, and can be a weekly starter in Fantasy lineups this coming season. WR42 pricetag is a cheap price for what he can mean to Herbert in 2024.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seahawks)

  • Out-produced both Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave at Ohio State back in 2021. A first-round selection by Seattle in 2023
  • Earned 93 targets with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett on the field as a rookie
  • Finished 21st in yards after the catch despite ranking 95th (playerprofiler) in the depth of his targets
  • Six weeks scoring 12+ Fantasy Points in 2023 with weeks of 16.3 (Week 7) and 14.8 (Week 15) points

JSN gets overlooked because he did not completely kick out two quality wide receivers as a rookie. No other rookies in 2023 had the same sort of target competition as JSN did, and it was in a year Geno Smith regressed. I do believe JSN can become the #1 or #2 target in Seattle in 2024, and that he is talented enough to become one of the next dominant slot wide receivers in the NFL. The change in coaching hopefully will elevate the quarterback play of Geno, or newcomer Sam Howell will be the next man up. WR45 for Fantasy Football is a cheap price for a talent like Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars)

  • Led the FBS in receiving touchdowns with 17, and posted a breakout 1,177 receiving-yard season with Malik Nabers out there with him. Vertical-threat with scoring upside.
  • First round of this year’s NFL Draft, which seems to be a great landing spot attached to Trevor Lawrence with Calvin Ridley’s (now a Titan) 136 vacated targets. Christian Kirk and Evan Engram will be the primary competitors for targets

I believe that all of Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, and Gabe Davis serve as great compliment pieces to an offense, but none are true alphas. The only player who can develop into an alpha receiver, in my opinion, is the rookie in Thomas Jr. I think Jacksonville looked at Lawrence’s 21 and 25 touchdown totals the last two seasons and thought “Hey, we really could use someone who can score touchdowns”. Insert the FBS leader in receiving touchdowns for TLaw to grow statically as a touchdown thrower. BTJ has big-play and touchdown upside that can translate big for Fantasy Football in 2024. I love the op[opportunity in Jacksonville. WR49 is a price that reflects uncertainty with a rookie that I am willing to gamble on in Fantasy drafts.

Ja’Lynn Polk (Patriots)

  • 1,159 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in Polk’s final college season at Washington with Rome Odunze on the field
  • Second-round selection by the Patriots in 2024, which was the first move they made after the selection of Drake Maye in the first round

Polk is the only guy on the Patriots roster who profiles as a true WR1, and I think he will operate as just that in 2024. The guy gets up and makes the big plays, fights for the ball, commits to blocking, and is smoking camp right now. Weekly target volume plus some upside in Polk’s DNA can translate to weekly FLEX value for Fantasy Football which would mean the WR68 draft pricetag is laughable. I have labeled Polk many times as

Tight Ends

Trey McBride (Cardinals)

  • 2023 Weeks 8-17 (when taking over as the starting tight end) McBride ranked:
    • #3 in targets
    • #2 in receptions
    • #3 in receiving yards
    • #3 in Fantasy Points scored
    • Averaged 15 Fantasy PPG
  • Upside examples from 2023:
    • 25.5 Fantasy Points (Week 8)
    • 21.1 Fantasy Points (Week 10)
    • 22.9 Fantasy Points (Week 13)
    • 20.2 Fantasy Points (Week 15)
    • 131 receiving yards (Week 10)
    • 10 receptions (Week 8)

The Kyler Murray to Trey McBride connection looked great last season, and that was with Kyler only playing in eight games after tearing his ACL the year prior. Kyler heavily targeted McBride, who for me showed much more upside than almost every other tight end in the league for Fantasy when he took over. A lot of people will mention the rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. limiting McBride in 2024, but I would simply reference Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta from last season as a good example for why this should not be a worry. I expect Murray’s passing volume to go back up to what it was his opening two seasons where he passed 550+ times in each of then. So much upside in McBride, who is being drafted as the TE4 but is my TE1 this season for Fantasy Football.

Dalton Kincaid (Bills)

  • 2023 first-round selection by the Bills. Finished the season:
    • #23 in snap share at 65.6%
    • #8 in targets (91)
    • #7 in receptions (73)
    • #10 in receiving yards (673)
    • #14 in Fantasy PPG (9.4)
    • Ran the second-most slot snaps for the position
  • Kincaid was on fire in Weeks 7-12 where he ranked:
    • #4 in targets
    • #2 in receptions
    • #5 in receiving yards
    • #3 in total Fantasy Points
    • Averaged 14.1 Fantasy PPG

Stefon Diggs vacates 160 targets after his move to Buffalo. Second-round rookie Keon Coleman, newcomer Curtis Samuel, and slot wide receiver Khalil Shakir will be the primary target competition for Kincaid in 2024. These wide receivers have a ton of potential, but I feel are more compliment roles vs. alpha roles in an offense. The potential is real for Kincaid to be Josh Allen’s #1 target in 2024, which would have massive Fantasy Football implications and make him a candidate to finish as the TE1 for Fantasy Football. Allen has passed for over 4,300 yards for four straight seasons and has thrown 35+ touchdowns in three seasons. Kincaid could be the next Travis Kelce, aka the #1 target attached to a great quarterback as a tight end.

You can read about both Trey McBride and Dalton Kincaid here:

Pat Freiermuth (Steelers)

  • 2022 season notes:
    • 9.3 Fantasy PPG ranked 12th
    • 98 targets (#5)
    • 12 deep targets (#3)
    • 63 receptions (#6)
    • 732 receiving yards (#6)
    • 1.86 yards per route run (#7)
    • 286 yards after the catch (#9)
  • Led all tight ends in 2021 as a rookie in red zone targets, and scored seven touchdowns that season

Looking ahead to 2024, the Steelers have re-shaped their offense. Not one but two quarterback upgrades in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were the first major step towards lifting this offense. The Steelers selected Troy Fautanu (OT, Washington) in the first round, Zach Frazier (C, West Virginia) in the second round and Mason McCormick (G, South Dakota State) in the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft to bolster that offensive line. The team’s perceived WR1, Diontae Johnson, was traded to the Carolina Panthers. Roman Wilson was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft, which means taking on the WR2 role as George Pickens defaults to the WR1. This could result in Freiermuth becoming the second target once again, which could translate back to what we saw in 2022. Consistent volume from an upgraded quarterback to a guy we have seen produce in the yardage and touchdown departments in the past could result in a huge season for Muth. Such a value at a TE15 price tag, and comfortably inside my Fantasy Football top 12 for 2024.

ADP Source: https://www.fantasypros.com/nfl/adp/ppr-overall.php

Who’s your favorite dark horse QB1? Drop some names in the comments below and then make sure to check out our 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit for more great rankings and analysis.

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